U.S. Ranks 49th in Life Expectancy, First in Health Care Costs

October 25, 2010 |
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America ranks 49th in life expectancy worldwide, putting it lower than a dozen other developed nations.

However, researchers determined that obesity, traffic accidents and a high murder rate may not be the main causes -- the U.S. didn't stand out as doing any worse in these areas than any of the other countries studied.

Instead, poor health care may be to blame. Factors such as costly specialized and fragmented care are likely playing a large role in the nation's poor performance.

Commenting on the study in Salon, Glenn Greenwald noted:

"It's easy to say and easy to document, but quite difficult to really internalize, that the United States is in the process of imperial collapse. Every now and then, however, one encounters certain facts which compellingly and viscerally highlight how real that is."

"If you still have a job and you can put food on the table, and you still have a warm house to come home to, then you should consider yourself to be very fortunate."

So begins the article in Pakalert Press, which then goes on to list 27 sobering facts that clearly suggest their opening statement is true.

Disturbing Signs that Standard of Living in US is Crumbling

Many experts now believe we're living in a house of cards that could topple at any moment, and the notion of the "American Dream" may turn into a nightmare as people struggle to put increasingly expensive food on the table while competing for jobs with a dirt-cheap overseas' labor force.

According to Pakalert, some 4 million middle-class Americans have recently joined the ranks of the poor, bringing the total number of people living below the federal poverty line to 43.6 million as of 2009. The US has never recorded such widespread poverty in the 51 years that the U.S. Census Bureau has kept such records…

In addition, The Atlantic Wire recently reported that about 17 million American families (about 15 percent) now struggle to pay for food. The number of households in this predicament has TRIPLED since 2006, and a whopping 25 percent of all Americans are now enrolled in some form of government food program.

"To cope, Americans have been cutting back on how much they save. Some 21 percent of all respondents said they have reduced their 401(k) contributions or personal savings in the last six months in order to get by, while 23 percent of the $100,000-and-over group said they had done so.

Are You Still Prioritizing Your Health in this Receding Economy?

As more and more Americans drop into poverty status while food and gas prices are rapidly increasing, the potential for the economy to impact your health becomes a major concern.

Through the years that I've been teaching about natural health principles, most have cited 'lack of funds' as the primary hurdle to improving their diet and lifestyle… And at this point, most people's personal finances are not about to get any better anytime soon.

I believe it is now more important than ever to make your health your first priority, and that means prioritizing nutrient-dense foods and clean water, and making time for physical exercise.

My strong recommendation to you is that you use all the upcoming negative headlines you will read in the media about the economy to simply relax and use it to further motivate you to get yourself and your family healthier.

Good health will be one of your most precious resources in the future and it will be much easier to achieve it now then it will be in the future.

Prioritize a Nutritious Diet and Prevent Waste

One of the greatest misconceptions out there is that processed, pre-packaged foods are less expensive than raw, whole foods. But more often than not this is simply not true.

Cooking from scratch is usually far more cost effective in the long run, particularly if you STOP throwing away the left-over's.

A 2008 report authored by the Stockholm International Water Institute, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Water Management Institute found that half of the food produced worldwide is wasted! In the United States, as much as 30 percent of food, worth over $48 billion, is simply thrown away…

To prevent unnecessary waste:

Plan ahead. If you plan your meals in advance, you can buy only what you need at the store.

Buy proper portions.

Learn to store your food so that it stays fresh.

Learn recipes for tasty leftover meals.

The British website Love Food Hate Waste can help you calculate portions, and provides a variety of time- and money-saving tips, recipes, and much more. For tips on proper food storage to prevent premature spoilage, please see this previous article.

Always remember that, aside from the actual sticker price of the food, cooking from scratch using fresh, whole (preferably organic) ingredients will provide you with far superior nutrition, and this is KEY for optimal health.

I also recommend taking the time to determine your nutritional type, and modifying your diet to fit your metabolic, biochemical profile. Adding this step is perhaps the most potent way to truly maximize the health benefits from your food.

Keep in mind that the money you think you're saving today by stocking up on cheap, denatured, processed foods will end up costing an arm and a leg later on, when your health fails and the medical bills start rolling in…

You can improvise Sprint 8 into just about any type of exercise, and you really don't require a gym membership or any equipment to do it. But if you do have access to equipment, using an elliptical or recumbent bike work really well.

Guidelines for a Comprehensive Exercise Plan

Sprint 8 is a term I've coined to represent a high-intensity type of exercise during which you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic threshold (your peak or maximum performance) for 20 to 30 seconds, and then you recover for 90 seconds. You'll want to work your way up to a total of eight repetitions.

These cycles are preceded by a three minute warm up and two minute cool down, so the total time investment is about 20 minutes.

Sprint 8 exercises will not only help you maximize weight loss, it will also dramatically improve muscle tone and strength, athletic speed and performance, and slow the aging process. This is because these types of exercises naturally boost your production of human growth hormone (HGH), also known as "the fitness hormone."

A truly comprehensive exercise regimen would include Sprint 8 exercises, plus the following:

Strength Training: Rounding out your exercise program with a 1-set strength training routine will ensure that you're really optimizing the possible health benefits of a regular exercise program. You need enough repetitions to exhaust your muscles. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.

Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.

Pilates and yoga are great for strengthening your core muscles, as are specific exercises you can learn from a personal trainer. Even if a personal trainer is not in the cards for you right now, please watch these sample videos for examples of healthy exercise routines you can do with very little equipment and in virtually any location.

Focusing on your breath and mindfulness along with increasing your flexibility is an important element of total fitness.

Stretching: Yoga is the classic exercise here. There are many other approaches but one of my favorites is Active Isolated stretching (AIS) http://www.stretchingusa.com/ developed by Aaron Mattes. It's an amazing way to get flexibility back into your system, and it's completely different from the traditional type of stretching. Another one is Egoscue which is particularly beneficial if you are experiencing any muscle pains.

Dehydration – An Excellent Way to Preserve Fresh, Nutritious Foods

Dehydration is another excellent tool you can use to store food for the future, instead of stocking up on processed, pre-packaged foods. If dehydrated foods are kept in an airtight container, they will stay fresh for about a year, or longer.

There are a number of books on the market to learn how to dehydrate your own food, and you can also find a lot of information for free online.

Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor. Start with buckwheat groats and garlic, followed by the rest of the ingredients.

Coat a dehydrator sheet with a small amount of olive oil and scoop batches of dough (about a heaping tablespoon each) onto dehydrator sheets, and swirl each scoop with a spoon to make rounds. You can make large pizza dough (about 6 inches in diameter), or you can make smaller individual rounds (about 3 inches in diameter). The smaller rounds are easier to serve and eat.

Press out the dough evenly to about 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick by patting the top with your fingertips or swirling with a spoon. If it gets too sticky, dip your fingers into some water to which you add a little olive oil. Once crust is pressed out evenly, dehydrate at 105 degrees for about 7 hours.

Flip the crackers and dry another 7–10 hours or until crust is completely dry and crisp. (It should be crunchy for the best-tasting cracker.) To speed the drying process, transfer to the mesh rack. Use a spatula when lifting dough, and be careful when transferring not to break the crackers.

NOTE: If crust is very dry and stored in a cool dry, airtight container, it can be kept fresh for months.

To sprout buckwheat, soak 1 cup raw buckwheat groats overnight; it will expand to about 2 cups. Drain and rinse well. Place on counter in a colander covered with a lightweight dish towel or in a sprouter for one day. Rinse several times while sprouting. (If you don't have time to sprout, you can just use buckwheat that has been soaked overnight and rinsed well.

Blend all ingredients together in a food processor. If the sauce sets in the refrigerator for at least an hour, it will thicken and become more flavorful

To assemble pizza: Arrange Buckwheat Groat Pizza Dough crackers on a plate. Spoon about 2 tsp. of the Yummy Marinara Sauce on the top of each cracker. It should be thick and not run over the edges.

Top with several little dollops of Nutty Cheese Sauce by placing about 1/2 tsp. of cheese sauce in a few places on top of the marinara sauce. If the Nutty Cheese Sauce is too thick, add a little water. It should still be thick and not at all runny.

For a garnish, top pizza with finely chopped scallions, onions, black olives, or leeks.

Final Thoughts

If events play out as some experts predict, the US economy will face even more challenges and if you are unprepared, your ability to purchase quality food to stay healthy may become even more limited.

That's a compelling reason for also considering taking some proactive safety measures in terms of safeguarding the money you still have.

Many experts believe a reasonable approach would be to have three months of your income in gold and silver coins in your physical possession. Merely holding gold or silver stocks would be ill advised should the worst case scenario become a reality. You do have to act quickly though as prices for food and precious metals alike are rapidly climbing.

However, if you plan your purchases prudently with a focus on nutrient-dense foods, and implement the lifestyle strategies offered on this site, you can give yourself and your family the best opportunity to get through it with your health intact.